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Though it somewhat resembles T-Mobile’s earlier Nokia 6133, the 6263 adds dedicated music controls, stereo Bluetooth, and the aforementioned 3G capability. We noticed, however, that the 6263’s Series 40 user interface was the slightest bit slow. To find accessories for this phone, see our cell phone ringtones and accessories guide. Both phones share a similar flip-phone design in basic black with a silver interior. The 1.35 inch (128×160 pixels) external display measures and supports 265,000 colors.

Though the headset jack accommodates 2.5mm headsets, Nokia included a handy 3.5mm adapter in the box. The music controls below the external display are large and tactile, though they’re not quite as user-friendly as we’d like. You can set an active standby mode, change the standby font color, and alter the messaging and phone book font size.

The keypad buttons are improved over the 6133. More demanding users can take advantage of full Bluetooth, voice dialing, USB mass storage, audio messaging for sending voice mail directly to another phone, push e-mail (with attachments), PC syncing, and instant messaging for Yahoo, ICQ, Windows Live, and AOL clients.

Except for its external music controls, the 6263’s music player is not unlike those on other Nokia models. On the downside, it appears T-Mobile disabled the phone’s capability to use MP3s as ring tones. You can transfer music to the phone relatively easily using Bluetooth, a USB cable, or a memory card. With the 6263’s FM radio you can save 20 station presets, save station names in your city, or direct the radio’s audio to the phone’s speaker.

We tested the quad-band (GSM 850/900/1800/1900) Nokia 6263 world phone in San Francisco and Seattle using T-Mobile service. On the whole, the 6263 delivered admirable call quality. Music quality was quite decent. As a 3G-capable phone, the 6263 supports 1700 and 2100 UMTS bands. The 6263 has a rated battery life of 6.5 hours talk time and 12.5 days standby time.

For T-Mobile